Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-04-13
LOOKING GLASSES.
A Brief Chapter on the Origin OF
Mlrrers.

MlrrerS.
Any solid substance that oan be
polished will, to a certain extent. an
swer Tor mirror; and metallic "look-
ing glasses" are frequently mentioned
In the Old Testament. Such looking
glasses were made of mixed metal,
chiefly of copper. and were susceptible
Of lustre which Sir G.. Wilkinson
says has been partially restored in
some Of those discovered at Thebes.
though buried in the earth for many
centuries. They were round or oval,
and inserted IN handles of metal, wood
or stone, whose form and ornamental
ton varied with the taste1 of their
owners,
In the cataoombs of ancient Rome,
mirrors have been found which appear
to be made OF a mixture Of bronze
and lead and tin, while others are of
peculiar kind of stone supposed to be
vitriiied lava.
Pliny mentions the rage for silver
mirrors as an evidence of Roman ex-
travagance, and says every Roman girl
wanted one. Plutarch says that De-
mosthenes had a looking g-glasS-proba-
bly, Of silver and sufficiently large to
reflect bis entire persOn-before which
he was accustomed TO rehear his
orations and arrange his gestures.
There were two serious objections
to metallic mirrors-their weight and
the fact that they were Ii iible to dis
tort the features OF those looking into
fhnrs Tho 1.NFa- %
offensive to ancient beaux and bellies,
and led to the substitution OF metal of
obsldlan, black stone. sometimes
trsnsparent"-to quote again from
Pliny-''but of so dull a transparency
that, as mirror, it renders the shadow
rather than the image of an object"
When the Spaniard5 discovered
America they found mirrors made of
substance which they called the Inca's
stone, because It was used by the Pc
ruvian princes for ornamental pur-
poses 1t was sort of pyriteS, sus-
ceptible OF high degree OF polish and
excellently well-calculated for mirrors.
As the ancients were familiar with
glass, it seems strange that they were
not acquainted with mirrors made
therefrom. True, Aristotle, some 400
years Z. c., wrote: ''GlasS and crystal
must be lined with q sheet of metal In
order to give back the image presented
to them. ''But most authors regard
glass mirrors a modern invention.
The first mention of glass mirrors
after their present form-occurs in
work on optics written by an Eng
lIsh monk, Johannes Peckham, in 1919.
In it he speaks OF ''glasS mirrors, COW
cred on the back with lead, that re-
fleet !no image IL the lead is scraped
of.' And another careful inyestl-
ga.or thinks the invention cannot date
from "a period earlier than tie middle
OF the thirteenth century, because in
France, during the fourteenth century,
glass mirrors were scarce, while those
of metal were abundant.
The crusades, which did so much to
acquaint Western with the industries
and civilization of EIstern Europe,
was the direct eause OF the introduc-
ton OF the manufacture of gl2ss into
Venice. For long time, this was the
only place where glass was manufac-
,tured, and thither every country, de-
String articles of glass, was compelled
to go go or send. Venetian glass rap
idly became famous, and its sale the
source of an immense revenue TO the
Republic.
Naturally, Venice was anxious 10 Sc
cure to herself for the future so valua-
bic a monopoly; and to this end,
through the Council of the Ten," she
ordered the glass-makers to leave the
city proper, and establish themselves
at Murano, on an island a little dis
tInce northeast from Venice. More
over, it was proclaimed that if a
workman should export anything that
might enable other countries to enter
into competition with Venice so far as
the making of glass was concerned
his property would be cOniiscated and
himself liable TO be put to death.
At Murano, glass mirrors were first |
made after the manner suggested by |
placing a metallic sheet |
back of the glass. The experiment did |
not prove satisfactory, and metal mir
rors remained in vogue till the begin
lng Of the sixteenth century, when
Two glass makers of Murano diScov-
sTed the method of making mirrors
which had for several years prevailed
N Germany.
The German process was as follows:
Melted lead or tin was blown with q
pipe into a hollow hall of glass, while
lot, thereby entirely coating its Inte-
-ior. When the glass had cooled, it
vas cut into small, round mirrors.
The two Muranese improved on this
method by substituting an amalgam of
in and quicksilver in place Of the |,
metals used by the Germans. Then
hey petitioned the Council Of the |,
Ten" that the night to manufacture
hese mirrors be granted them exc,u-
lively for twenty-five years. The de-
tired privilege was granted them for
wenty years.
Wonderful success attended the en-
erprise, and, when the twenty years
lad expired, hundreds engaged in it.
indeed, so numerous were the mirror
makers, the Venetian Government sep.
Irated them from the other glass;
makers, and established a distinct COM
,any for their benefit.
Gradually, the manufacture of glass
mirrors advanced toward perfecUlon,
md no one did more in this direction
han Liberale Motta, who 1ourished at
durano about 1850, and made them
# size previously unattainable.